A source from within the Iraqi Coordination Framework revealed today, Wednesday, that there is a division among the forces of the framework, which represent the ruling Shiite powers in the country, regarding two Sunni candidates to succeed the ousted Speaker of the House, Muhammad al-Halbousi. The source, who requested anonymity, stated that the Sunni blocs have two candidates to replace the Speaker: one is Representative Salem Al-Aisawi, the candidate of the "Taqaddum" party led by Muhammad al-Halbousi and the Sovereignty Alliance led by Khamis al-Khanjar, while the second candidate is Muthana al-Samarrai, the head of the "Azm" Alliance.
The source clarified that the Coordination Framework has not agreed on a specific candidate, and there is currently a division regarding the candidates. Furthermore, the State of Law bloc supports Al-Aisawi’s nomination, while the Fatah Alliance backs Muthana al-Samarrai. The source pointed out that the Sunni blocs also have not agreed on a specific candidate, which delays the resolution of the Speaker’s position and postpones the voting until later today or tomorrow, Thursday.
Meanwhile, an informed parliamentary source indicated that the session of the House of Representatives will not see the election of a new Speaker today due to ongoing disputes among the Sunni political forces, along with divisions in the positions of the Coordination Framework, and thus the item for electing the Speaker will be removed from the agenda. It was noted that the session will only convene to vote on extending the work of the commission.
The Taqaddum and Sovereignty Alliance officially authorized their leaders, Muhammad al-Halbousi and Khamis al-Khanjar, to choose a replacement name for the position of the Speaker of the House after it became vacant. The Iraqi House of Representatives had officially decided to terminate the membership of Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi based on the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, effective from November 14, 2023. The Iraqi House of Representatives decided to dedicate its session scheduled for today, Wednesday, to elect a new Speaker following the vacancy of the position.
The Federal Supreme Court, "the highest judicial authority in Iraq," announced on Tuesday, November 14, the termination of the membership of Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi due to a lawsuit filed against him by Representative Laith al-Dulaimi, who accused him of forging his resignation from the House of Representatives, leading the Federal Court to rule on the termination of the memberships of both al-Halbousi and al-Dulaimi.
